ZIP 04268 vs ZIP 04281

This side-by-side compares ZIP 04268 (Norway, ME) and ZIP 04281 (South Paris, ME) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 04268 has a population of 5,023 at 43 people per square mile, while ZIP 04281 has 5,116 at 49 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 04268 reports a median household income of $54,342 against $75,137 in ZIP 04281, with per-capita income of $32,290 vs $33,381. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.4% in 04268 and 28.8% in 04281. Poverty rate reads 20.9% vs 12.5%, and unemployment 4.5% vs 1.5% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $215,800 in 04268 versus $240,400 in 04281, with median rent of $770 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 70.5% vs 60.2%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.